“Auditronics 501”
At the heart of Studio A is a 24-channel Auditronics “Son of 36 Grand” 501 console. Made in Memphis, TN in the 1970s, the 501 is known for its thick, musical 4-band inductor EQ and Jensen transformer-based preamps. As a company, Auditronics built famous consoles for Spectra Sonics, whose discrete consoles were famously used at Stax Records, also in Memphis. In designing their own flagship product, the 501, engineers attempted to make a slightly more affordable Class AB console using a lot of the same parts. Over the years, Auditronics consoles have developed a reputation all their own.
“Opamp Labs 1604”
Studio B is centered around a rare, 16 channel Opamp Labs board from the ‘70s. Made in Los Angeles until very recently, they feature gritty transistor preamps, inductor EQs, and honking big UTC transformers on 4 busses + L/R outputs. You can hear the sound as a mixing board on tracks like “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy, and as a tracking board on newer records like St. Vincent’s “Daddy’s Home” & Adrian Younge’s “Jazz is Dead” series.